1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to infotainment (i.e., information/entertainment) systems for vehicles and, more particularly, the infotainment systems capable of receiving, processing and navigating multiple forms of infotainment media.
2. Description of the Related Art
Vehicles are typically equipped with an infotainment system capable of receiving infotainment media, such as radio signals, music files stored on a compact disc, music files stored on an MP3 device, music and video files stored on a digital video disc, and navigational information including map files and radio frequency signals provided by a global positioning system (GPS). Many of these infotainment systems are capable of receiving and processing multiple forms of infotainment media. For instance, a vehicle infotainment system might include any combination of a radio receiver for receiving broadcast radio signals, a satellite radio receiver for receiving satellite radio signals, a compact disc player, a digital video disc player and an MP3 port for linking to an MP3 storage device. The infotainment system provides the user with in-vehicle infotainment derived from these infotainment media.
In order to enable a user to select the type of infotainment medium, such infotainment systems are equipped with a user interface in the form of a visual display and multiple buttons. The visual display informs the user as to which infotainment medium is being engaged and additional information regarding that medium. To change infotainment media (such as between radio and CD) and/or select infotainment data within that media (such as a particular song on the CD), the user typically disrupts his/her visual attention from the road and views the visual display. The user then finds the button pertaining to the infotainment media of choice (e.g., the CD Player) and views the display to determine which infotainment data (e.g., which CD in the CD Player) he/she wishes to enjoy. The user may again disrupt his/her visual attention to view the display and determine which data (e.g., which song on the CD) is currently playing and select the data of choice. Accordingly, the user takes his/her eyes off of the road frequently to operate the infotainment system and navigate through the available infotainment media and data.